Six Flags baby giraffe named after Giant

Brandon the giraffe, born August 26 at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, was named after Brandon Belt of the San Francisco Giants.

“Baby giraffe,” the pet name for San Francisco Giants’ rookie outfielder Brandon Belt, is spreading like wildfire. Six Flags Discovery Kingdom got on board that animal train today when it announced the name of its newborn giraffe: Brandon.

Belt’s moniker, given to him by sports announcer Duane Kuiper, has already inspired one fan to sport a giraffe hat and another to send the player an ivy and moss giraffe topiary. (Read the full story from Friday’s Chronicle.)

“As we like to say, it came out of left field,” Nancy Chan, the animal park’s communications manager, told KTRE. “The Giants called us about setting something up with Brandon Belt and our giraffes and we just so happened to have one born, so we decided to name it after him.”

Brandon the giraffe was born just before noon on Friday and is the second offspring of seven-year-old Makali. The giraffe calf, already 6’2″, is expected to outgrow the six-foot-five Giant well before reaching adult height, 18 feet.